Tag Archives: Romney

The Washington Post has a new poll out today that shows how evenly split America is between the parties and between Obama and Romney – no big surprise there. Obama’s job ratings are 48 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval.

But the most interesting thing in the poll is this: “One key theme of the campaign is breaking in Obama’s favor. By 55 percent to 38 percent, more Americans consider inequality the bigger economic issue than over-regulation of free enterprise. A majority of independents say inequality is the bigger issue.”

The GOP has invested a lot of rhetoric in claiming that free enterprise and America’s future economic growth is imperiled by “socialist” over-regulation from Washington – it is, of course, the Johnny-one-note theme of Fox News and has been a cudgel Republican lawmakers have been wielding to bash everything from Dodd-Frank on Wall Street reform to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

But the poll would suggest that voters are not buying it. This could be significant for Obama. Judging by the poll –- and other recent surveys – Independents are not in the Obama camp – of course they are not in the GOP camp either. For instance, today’s poll throws up this: “A record-high 20 percent of independents say they trust neither side when it comes to the interests of the middle class.”

It is the issue of inequality versus regulation that gives Obama some clear distance from the GOP when it comes to Independents.. So we will hear much more, I suspect, in the coming weeks on the Buffet Rule and Romney’s tax rate of 15 percent.

One other boost for the President from today’s opinion poll comes with signs that Democrat enthusiasm for him is growing. That’s crucial for his re-election prospects. Obama won last time because of his supporters’ enthusiasm and his ability to use that to increase the Democrat base – to sign up more young people and ethnic minorities.

“Most Democrats, 53 percent, say the country is heading in the right direction, a 21-point increase since September. Two in three say they see a rejuvenated economy, up 19 points from November.”